Cecily McMillan
A Manhattan judge has sealed
the personnel file of an NYPD officer who allegedly groped the Occupy Wall
Street protester charged with assaulting him.
Martin Stolar, the attorney
representing protester Cecily McMillan, had argued that the prior allegations
of excessive force against her arresting officer, Grantley Bovell, as well his
involvement with the Bronx ticket-fixing scandal justified an examination of
his personnel file, which may contain other incidents that would impact his
credibility. Judge Ronald Zweibel disagreed.
"I think it's totally
wrong," Stolar says of the decision. "It is a very narrow reading of
the law, because what I'm looking for are things that will reflect on the
officer's credibility. It's things that I don't know about that I believe
should be in the file. Somebody who has this pattern of behavior, there may be
other incidents."
McMillian was arrested in
Zuccotti Park on March 17th, 2012, during a demonstration to mark the six month
anniversary of the movement. During a violent altercation between the
protesters and the NYPD, McMillian, then 23, suffered a seizure. Protesters
described on video how McMillan convulsed on the pavement for several minutes
while police officers stood mutely over her body.
As she was being detained,
McMillian allegedly elbowed Officer Bovell in the face. McMillan says that's
because Bovell grabbed her right breast. The City denies that claim, and has
charged McMillan with felony assault of an officer, which carries a sentence of
up to seven years in prison. She was hospitalized after her arrest for bruised
ribs and limbs.
Officer Bovell has been accused
of running a motorcyclist off the road to make an arrest, kicking a suspect in
the face while he was on the ground, and slamming an arrestee's face into the
stairs on an MTA bus. In the case of the motorcyclist, Bovell was disciplined
for a procedural infraction, while the department could not substantiate the
other claims.
Bovell was also one of the 500
officers ensnared in the vast ticket-fixing scandal in the Bronx, and was again
internally disciplined for his role.
"These incidents may have
nothing to do with this case, but they sure have a lot to do with his ability
to testify under oath and tell the truth," Stolar says, adding that the
judge's ruling does not prohibit the defense from using the allegations against
Bovell. "I'm certainly going to bring them up and question him about
them."
A spokeswoman for the Manhattan
DA's office declined to comment on the judge's decision. McMillan's trial, one
of the last involving Occupy Wall Street protesters, is set to begin on April
7.